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Category Archives: Encouragement

Can you discover the depths of God?… Job 11:7
You’re on the adventure of a lifetime when you pursue a greater knowledge of God. What you’ve learned about God so far should give you a hunger to know Him even more. You must never be satisfied with what you know about Him already. Here are four practical benefits of knowing God:

1) Blessing. The more you know God and obey His will, the more you’ll experience His blessings. ‘If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children…’ (Deuteronomy 4:40 NLT)
2) Peace. ‘Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God…’ (2 Peter 1:2 NAS). The more you know God, the more at peace you’ll be. Yes, struggles and setbacks will come, but even then you’ll have a sense of well-being because you’ll feel His nearness
3) Wisdom. Paul prayed that God would give the Ephesians ‘…a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him’ (Ephesians 1:17 NAS). Wisdom is seeing things the right way. Revelation is when God bypasses the limitations of your mind and shows you things you otherwise wouldn’t know. Instead of finding a solution to life’s problems every now and then, you can walk each day in a ‘spirit of wisdom and of revelation.
4) Freedom. ‘…when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods’ (Galatians 4:8 NAS). Without the confidence that comes from knowing God, and your standing before Him, you become a slave to circumstances, emotions, or other people’s opinions. Refuse to live that way. Instead, get to know God better.

Pray for them which despitefully use you. Luke 6:28
Don Shula, head coach of the Miami Dolphins American Football team, always held his players to ‘the 24-hour rule.’ He gave them 24 hours to celebrate victory or sulk over defeat, then put it behind them. What a great rule to live by!

When you’re criticised it’s human to want to retaliate, but when you take the time to try and understand people it’s easier to forgive them. Many of the negative people in our lives just lack intimate relationships, so they keep others at arm’s length, rarely share their feelings and are uncomfortable with those who do. It’s easier for them to condemn than accept. Their hard and fast views make them inflexible. Often these people can’t handle freedom; they need rules that limit their choices, and only feel secure within their own boundaries.

Abraham Lincoln said, ‘If I tried to answer all the attacks made against me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the best I know how. If the end brings me out right, then what is said won’t matter. If the end brings me out wrong, then ten angels declaring I was right would make no difference.’

In dealing with others, always take the high road laid out by Jesus: ‘Pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either…just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise’ (Luke 6:28-31 NKJV). Is that always easy to do? No, but it always pays off!

God can move so quickly that one day it feels like all hell has broken loose in your life, and the next, like you’re seated in heavenly places. And in both instances: ‘…it is God which worketh in you…’ (Philippians 2:13 KJV). The Bible uses words like straightway, immediately, and suddenly to remind us that when God moves we must be ready to move too. He doesn’t announce it with trumpets and a fanfare so you must stay prepared, especially for something you’ve been waiting for a long time. You may be just a moment away from the answer you’ve been seeking.

That’s all the time it takes God to change things; a moment! Don’t let discouragement dull your faith or procrastination steal your opportunity. Referring to His second coming, Jesus said, ‘Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house’ (Matthew 24:17KJV). You’ve got to decide whether you’re going to accept what God has for you now and move forward, or return to your house, because your unfinished business can cause you to miss God’s best. And so can waiting for others.

A paralysed man missed his healing for thirty-eight years because he waited for others to act. He told Jesus: ‘…I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up…’ (John 5:7 NKJV). For years he sat beside the solution, but others caused him to miss it. Nothing is more important than what God is saying and doing in your life right now: not what’s going on in your house, not the actions or opinions of others. What matters is being ready. Are you ready?